Hot Mess Elf
[star wars: rebels]
Hot Mess Elf
just starting season two
Hot Mess Elf
shit's getting real with papa vader on the scene
Glittery Jim
this show any good? it's been on the periphery of my radar for a while but I'm wary
Hot Mess Elf
did you watch clone wars?
Hot Mess Elf
all my comparisons are clone wars-based
Rama
All my comparisons are Star Wars SAGA-based and it's literally "Star Wars RPG party the cartoon"
Rama
But with better characters than my players usually come up with
Hot Mess Elf
... okay admittedly that works, it's a straight-up D & D party in space
Hot Mess Elf
but that comes complete with the jedi hogging table time, quieter players getting talked over, and excess manpain outweighing subtler character development
Hot Mess Elf
it's got a strong cast but they DEEPLY need more episodes focusing on Hera, Zeb, & Sabine
Rama
Hera & Sabine in Pitch Black 4: Live Free Or Pitch Black was pretty great though
Glittery Jim
I... watched the tartavosky clone wars
Hot Mess Elf
season one was pretty simplistic, but it was entertaining and gave the show a strong grounding
Hot Mess Elf
Glittery Jim
: not really much to compare
Hot Mess Elf
watch the CGI clone wars! season one is a little ehhh but season 2 onward are REALLY good
Rama
I think Rebels started stronger than Clone Wars and will hopefully improve just as much
Glittery Jim
hm... I'll have to give it a shot thanks for the rec!
Hot Mess Elf
the prequels we deserved tbh
Rama
No kidding
Hot Mess Elf
like, Anakin's slow fall over the course of Clone Wars is EVERYTHING I wanted from the movies
Hot Mess Elf
ESPECIALLY when contrasted with Ahsoka
Rama
Why is all the interesting character development and setting exploration in a sidestory cartoon instead of the feature films...
Hot Mess Elf
well, to be fair, a character arc like a fall to darkness is just better series than movie material
Hot Mess Elf
it has space for nuance
Hot Mess Elf
but the later episodes that showed anakin & padme and the push and pull of their relationship? WOW
Rama
Step 1 to a good Star Wars love story: get a director who isn't George Lucas
Hot Mess Elf
anyway, yeah, Rebels season one was better than Clone Wars season one, but it was, like, a foundation
Hot Mess Elf
season two is starting off with a bang
Rama
Season 1 was pretty basic, yeah
Rama
The Shit Getting Real moments were incredible for a Disney XD show though
Hot Mess Elf
so far the show is strongest when drawing on the rest of the universe - the episodes with lando, yoda, and tarkin were by FAR the best
Hot Mess Elf
but otoh, I liked the focus on Lothal
Hot Mess Elf
this is a low-level adventuring party with roots in the community and local concerns
Hot Mess Elf
they can only do so much on their own
Hot Mess Elf
ANYWAY back to watching papa vader turn up the heat
Rama
Barring the occasional assault on a Star Destroyer I definitely thought the stakes were appropriate to what they were going for, and lower-stakes Star Wars always catches my interest
Rama
Especially when they, as you're saying about season 2, start ramping it up and people get in over their heads
Hot Mess Elf
red letter day, zeb had a line which disclosed information about his character!
Hot Mess Elf
yeah I uh. there are a few times where I wish they had them up against smaller ships, because they just don't do justice to the firepower or even fighter power of a star destroyer
Hot Mess Elf
but they want to go with "iconic vessel", I get that
Rama
Nobody knows any Imp ships except Star Destroyers and Shuttles
Rama
Plus you can dungeon crawl on an ISD
Hot Mess Elf
XD true
Hot Mess Elf
also, I REALLY like that they do use Rebel cell structure - Ghost, Phantom, & then the Spectre callsigns on missions
Hot Mess Elf
makes me homesick for a fighter squadron game
Rama
I have been waiting for some of my PbP games to collapse to try and organize something for plurk frands
Hot Mess Elf
o.o
Rama
Unfortunately I also swore I wouldn't just abandon games unless all of my players ditched, and I've got some tenacious folks
Hot Mess Elf
OMG THEY'RE GOING FIGHTER TO FIGHTER WITH VADER, BABIES NO
Rama
Nice knowing you
sasuga sunrise
It's baby Firefly.
sasuga sunrise
I watch it religiously, even though I don't plurk about it much.
sasuga sunrise
It's better than TCW at its worst, but worse than TCW at its best.
Hot Mess Elf
god vader can fly
Hot Mess Elf
I'm not rooting for him but it's hard not to be impressed
Hot Mess Elf
and his "fuck this snubfighter bullshit, just gonna do solo shield tower runs on the cap ships"
Hot Mess Elf
that's the anakin skywalker i remember
Rama
Yeah it's also pretty much Firefly except actually actively resisting the government instead of being passive-aggressive at them.
sailor bii
oh my god it is star wars firefly
sailor bii
also man i need to start watching season two
Hot Mess Elf
SUCH IMPROVED
Hot Mess Elf
Hondo Ohnaka is magnificent as always